N.F.L. ROUNDUP; FLEXIBLE SUNDAY NIGHT SLOTS

By Richard Sandomir (NYT)

April 6, 2006

Get ready for some flexibility mixed with some inconvenience.

The N.F.L. unveiled yesterday how it would determine which games will be carried on NBC's Sunday night schedule in seven of the last eight weeks of the season, starting Nov. 12. The flexible schedule is intended to give NBC a better shot at competitive games in prime time and to showcase teams on the rise.

On schedules that will be released by the league today, NBC will list TBD, for to be determined, beside each Sunday night slot from Weeks 10 to 15 and in Week 17.

But NBC will actually have games assigned to it for those weeks, and it could carry them if they are compelling matchups. If not, the N.F.L., on 12 days' notice, can shift the game originally designated for NBC to an earlier time slot on Fox or CBS. In Week 17, the N.F.L. can make the switch six days before the game.

In Week 16, NBC will not carry a Sunday night game, but it will broadcast one at 5 p.m. Monday, which is Christmas Day. CBS and Fox will be permitted to protect five games apiece during the flex period.

"There will be times when we won't flex to the most obvious choice because of the negative impact it might have on CBS or Fox," said Howard Katz, the N.F.L.'s senior vice president for media operations.